Apparatus for packing boxes



(No Model.) 2 Sheets--Sheet 1.

R. NEILL. Apparatusfor'Pa'oking Boxes. No 239,185. Patented March 22, I881.

.NYFEIERS, PHDTD-LITHOGRAPHER, WASHINGTON, D. Q

(No Model.)

w z'sneetssneec 2. R'. NEILL. I

Apparatus for- Packing Boxes. No. 239,185. Patented March22, 1881.

mmug J am N-PETERS. PHOTO-{II HOGRAPFIER. WASHINGTON. D. G.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT NEILL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

APPARATUS FOR PACKING BB'OXES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 239,185, dated March 22, 1881.

Application filed January 20,1881. (No model.)

Cook and State of Illinois, have inventeda new and useful Apparatus for Guiding the Covers of Boxes while being Packed, of which the following is a specification.

The packing of. articles of various kinds into boxes by means of pressure has long'been a business of so much magnitudethat it will be readily seen that any apparatus which so operates as to produce a saving of labor and time in that department is an invention of much utility.

The method of packing previous to my invention has been to fill the box to be packed so that the contents would extend up above the sides, and to place the cover on top, the pressure of a packing screw or device being then applied, and the contents so compressed that thecover would be brought down to the proper position to be secured by nails or screws. The principal objection to this method has been that the substances to be packed could not be placed in the boxes so that the resistance-to the pressure applied would be uniform at all points, and for this reason, in most instances, the covers, when forced down to the level of the topof the boxes, would be out of place and not in position to be fastened. This made it necessary, before the covers could be secured, to drive them into position, which could only be done, in most cases, by so turning back the packing screw or device as to lessen the pressore, to accomplish all of which more or less time was unavoidably consumed.

By means'of my improved box-cover guide I am able to keep the covers in position to be secured the moment they come in contact with the tops of the boxes.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of my invention while in use. Fig. 2 is a horizontal central section in the line 2 2 of Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a cross-section of Fig.

2 in line 3 3.

Similar letters refer to similar. parts in the several views.

In the drawings the upright guide-pieces are indicated by A and B.

O is the under arm or bar, connected with one of the guide-pieces.

D indicates the outer slotted and toothed arm or bar fastened to the other guidepiece. E is the drum or burr, with teeth on one side. F is the lever connected with the bar, and by which the same is operated.

a and b are the projecting points on the inside of the guide-pieces.

c and d indicate the handles on the outside of the guide-pieces.

c and f are the bolts or screws connected with the under arm and passing through the slot in the outer arm, and which operate both to guide the arms and to connect them together.

9 and h indicate the ears connected to the under arm, 0, and through which, near the outer ends, a bolt or screw passes for the purpose of holding the drum or burr.

' The eyes to which I connect the supporting chains or cords are indicated by m and n.

The supporting chains or cords are marked 0.

The slots or openings for the box-straps to pass through in the lower portion of the guidepieces are indicated by p and q.

My improved box-cover guide consists of the two upright right-angle guidepieces A and B, of iron or other suitable material, with the handles 0 and d secured to each on the outside,

and with one or more sharp points or projections, to and b, on the inside. I prefer to construct these upright guide-pieces of quarterinch iron plate, of the dimensions of about six by eighteen inches; or they can be of cast-iron. When made of wrought-iron I bend the iron lengthwise, so as to form a right angle to fit the corner of the box to which it is applied, and to more readily hold the cover in position. The projecting points on the inside ofthe end pieces are to hold the entire devicein position while in use. The length of the guide-pieces is to be governed by the nature of. the article to be packed in the boxes, as these guides should be of sufficient length to extend up above the contents of the box, soas to hold the cover in its proper place before the packing screw or device is applied.

As many boxes have straps or bands passing around the sides at or near the corners, I cut out from the lower part of each of the guides, or leave out of the castings near the corner, a piece of the iron of the dimensions of about three inches in length by about an inch in width, so that the strap on the box can pass inside of this'opening. By bending the box-straps outward, and allowing them to pass inside of this opening or slot, my device can be readily used on boxes having straps or bands on them. These openings or slots in the lower part of the guides are shown in the drawings, and are marked p. I connect these upright guide-pieces by means of two arms or bars, and D, of iron or other suitable material, and secured to the guides by-bolts or screws; or, if preferred, each arm and the guide-piece connected therewith may be cast together. These arms, which I make about three feet long and about two and one-half inches wide, are fastened to the guide-pieces a short distance from the lower ends, so as to have the guides extend far enough below the arms to hold the device in position. The arms or bars overlap each other, the outer arm, 0, being slotted about half an inch in width for nearly the entire length of the arm. The length of the slot is to be regulated by the difference in size of the boxes to which my device is to be adjusted. These arms are held together by means of the bolts or screws 6 and f, which pass through the open slot in the outer arm, D, and are inserted into the under arm, 0. The heads of these bolts or screws, being broader than the slot, project over the sides and operate to hold the bars in position.

To the sides of the under arm, 0, near the end, or at any suitable point, I weld or otherwise secure the ears 9 and h, of the same material as the arms. These ears extend out beyond the outer arm, D, far enough to have secured between them their regular oval burr or drum E, with teeth out on the projecting side, and to which is connected the lever B. The burr is held in position by a bolt or screw passing through the same and through the projecting ends of the cars. This drum, held in position as it is, not only operates to adjust and secure my device to the box when in use, but also aids in securing the arms 0 and D together. The outer slotted arm, D, has teeth out upon the outer surface on both sides of the slot throughout the entire length of the slotted portion, or for such a portion as the use to which the device is to be applied may demand.

To the upper ends of the upright guidepieces A and B, I attach, by the eyes m and n, or other means, chains or cords 0, which pass over pulleys, and to which weights are attached. By means of these chains,pulleys, and weights I suspend my device from the ceiling of the packing-room, so that it can be readily run up out of the way when not in use, and lowered when required.

It is evident that the construction of my device may be varied, if desired.

A somewhat different but equivalent form of construction, which I have used and which might be preferred by some, is to have the arms and guide-pieces of cast-iron, an arm and one of the guides being cast together. I then partially inclose one arm inside of the other by casting the under arm so that it comes up on each side of the inclosed arm and projects over on top at the edges sufliciently to hold the inclosed arm in place. The inclosed arm is thus made to slide inside of the outer one. I cut teeth on that portion of the inclosed arm which is not covered by the under arm, having such portion sufficiently raised so that the teeth will come in contact with the teeth on the drum or burr. I either cast ears on the sides of the under arm, for the purpose of holding the drum in place, or have an iron strap or band pass partially around the under arm and project above the sides for the same purpose. If desired, this same form of construction may be followed when wrought or plate iron is used.

Figs. 4 and 5 illustrate my modified and equivalent form of construction just described.

The operation of my improved box-cover guide is as follows: After the box has been filled ready for packing, my device is lowered into position by the workmen and adjusted to the box, this adjustment being made by lengthening or shortening the arms, the construction and arrangement described admitting of the free action of the arms in this respect, the lever which operates the burr or drum being in the meantime in such a position as to prevent the teeth on the drum from connecting with the teeth on the outer arm. My device being thus in position, is then securely attached to the box by bringing the lever down in the direction that will operate to contract the arms, and so that the lever will be parallel with the arms when the guides are secured to the box, the movement of the lever causing the teeth of the projecting portion of the burr or drum to connect with the teeth of the outer slotted arm and to move the same, thus bringing the guide-pieces nearer position being in this way secured. The guides being thus in position, the cover is placed on top of the contents of the box, and one side and both ends adjusted to the guides. The packing screw or device is now applied and the contents compressed to the desired degree, the guides keeping the cover in place, ready to be secured as soon as brought down to the level of the top of the box. By reversing the lever the guides are extended and the projectin g points disconnected from thebox, so that the apparatus can be run up out of the way until required for use again.

My box-cover guide can be used in packing meats, dry-goods, or such other substances as are compressed in packing.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Let 5 ters Patent, is-

As a new article of manufacture, a boxcover guide consisting of the upright rightangle guide-pieces A and B, with the projecting points a and b on the inside, the plain arm 0, the toothed and slotted arm D, the to drum or irregular oval E, toothed upon one side and operated by the lever F,- constructed, arranged, and operated substantially as herein specified and described.

ROBT. NEILL. Witnesses:

FREDERICK O. Goonwm, ABEL BOND. 

